200 things I have and have not done

So Rachel had this on her blog, I thought it was a little fun. I usually never do them, but I was in the mood today I guess.

200 things I have and have not done
All you have to do is copy the list below and bold the things you HAVE done and un-bold the things you HAVE NOT done.
200 Have and Have nots!
1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity(does the church count?)
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game (huge? Jazz game I don't know oh well)
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar (ok not meaningful to me... at all but it was a conversation..... the bee has one stinger... don't ask)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant ( we bought a homeless guy a pizza once?? not the same though I guess)
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (I guess you could say we were starting over)
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight:
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi (Yuck)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (it was a small town)
85. Read The Bible cover to cover (in fairness I have read all except the Songs of Solomon we skipped that in Semminary so I have never felt the desire to read it)
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name (maiden name to married name)
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish, but usually my dad cleaned it)
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair (school booth at small town fair, does that count?)
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap (ok no body could tell it was an animal.... but I thought it looked like a bird sort of)
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket (rarely)
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget (arrowhead)
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks (or pigeons?)
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane (just for a second)
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint (needlepoint a long time ago, I'm not good at it, no patience)
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing (at least I thought so)
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog (tada)
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible (just rode in never owned)
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

Some more pics

So here are some pics from our little family excursion to Tokyo a couple weekends ago. It was really fun and we felt so adventurous going on the trains all by ourselves all the way to Tokyo. Its really not to bad once you get the rhythm of it down. You just have to get used to how fast everything moves.... everyone here seems to move at "double time"

So we walked around the downtown area near the temple. Mostly because its the only place we were vaguely familiar with. There is also the New Sanno hotel there, which is for military members. So if anything happens you can go in there and get it taken care of, you hope. So we went to find a nice restaurant and we settled on (you won't believe it) a nice Mexican restaurant. I know, I know, we are in Tokyo we should try something more Japanese. But with my fickle stomach right now, when something smells good, like this Mexican restaurant did its what we are going to eat. To be honest the Japanese food just does something to my smell sense right now and it is not pleasant.

The girls having too much fun at the Mexican restaurant. It was yummy, expensive compared to what we are used to paying for Mexican food, but it tasted great. The little signs behind the girls were from Americans saying how much they loved the food there. I was surprised at how well the Japanese made the burrito I have to say! Niyah loved the rice, and Harley loved the chips and Salsa.
We told Niyah to make a funny face.......

So this pretty little side road is off of a very busy main road. You can see down to the busy street below. We didn't walk all the way up this road because we think it goes into a nice neighborhood.

So we just stopped to rest here in the shade of the trees.

The girls in the park by the temple. You can't see it but there where some very pretty ducks in this pond. I didn't get a picture of the unique sign here that said "don't feed the crows." The crows are worse then pigeons here.

Thats about all for pics. It is really enjoyable and I hope to take some more exciting pictures to share next time we head out!

Jebs Work

So Jeb brought home some pics from his work and I just had to share!!

Getting ready!

oooooh nice muscles
off to save the contaminated warehouse

So does anyone else think "Monster Inc." when you see these pics? You know the part with the monsters dressed up like this..... I thought it was funny how much they looked like that. Jeb says its like being in a little steam sauna, very hot. This guys little window was so steamed, and he was without his glasses, so he couldn't see at all.

And here is what they do with their down time......

Well thats all. Just a little fun to share!!

NO Training Wheels????

So Jeb has decided that it is "high" time his little innocent children learn how to ride bikes without training wheels. Harley had already tried last year when we visited him in Mississippi, but when we returned to Utah, mom nicely put them back on :) So when the bikes where unpacked and fixed up from the move, no training wheels were added. So here our some posts of the successful adventure with Daddy leading the way.

So here they are before looking brave and happy (Jebs goofy face? Don't know)

And here is Dad and Harley with Harley reaffirming that she is now SIX years old!! Harley is very ready to be riding with just two wheels, she wants to be all grown up! ( I don't have a pic of Niyah by herself because she took off to the house..... you know Niyah)

Here is the video of Harley going, she really didn't need much help! My heart broke as she sped away all I could think of was all the independence riding a big two wheel bike all by yourself gives you. Could she really be starting towards the part of life where your bike meant freedom, your own mode of transportation! No Way! But the evidence suggests otherwise.

And Niyah, Her first go was GREAT! Surprisingly great. I was shocked. She was very proud of herself and Jeb was very impressed also.

Then Niyah tried again, just a little fall. Yet it completely discouraged her, scared her I'm not sure. But the rest of the time it was not really a happy time for her.

I didn't take many pics after that because I was to busy encouraging Harley and watching apprehensively as Niyah became more upset and her Dad more bewildered as to why she was so upset. He wanted her to keep trying, she wanted her training wheels BACK ON! Finally after taking a break, getting some tears out, they came to an understanding and tried just a little more, without tears this time. But needless to say it is not going to be the last training session, for little Niyah.

While Harley could ride forever..... as soon as she learns to turn and watch out for the trees.

Sharing some sights

Well people have asked about seeing things around where we live so I am going to try to share a little bit, consider this a little tour of what we have seen.... which granted is not much yet!

So this is the outside of our house. We are in the end farthest away. Its really not much to look at to be honest, but at least every house on base looks the same. So its not like we our the only people on the block with "the ugly house." Every house is a bit ugly so its ok! But really its not bad. The inside is nice, but I just don't want to take pics until I have it nice and organized, which it isn't right now.

Here is Harley (looking so pretty) on the roof of the commisary (aka supermarket). You can see out into Japan from there so its a pretty good view. They say when it is not cloudy in the back (which rarely occurs) you can see Mt. Fuji from there. We will take pics if we ever see it!

This is the vending machine... not very exciting but they are everywhere here. To us they are different because what they mostly sell is coffee in them. Thats pretty much all the people drink from the machines, well that and coke they like coke. But the machines have a button on them you push red or blue, and your drink comes out hot or cold. Which might be nice for us if they ever decided to sell hot chocolate! This one actually sells water and juice, but thats because its on base, but its not really water its carbonated water stufff....

This is from when we drove down to the Tokyo temple with some people from our ward. We where trying to show the traffic with all the little cars... Its not the best shot, but needless to say the traffic is amazing to us. There are just so many people. Some people have said its a lot like New York City. Since I have not been there I don't know.

This is a sweet picture of some little children with a gentlemen by a well. We watched them while stuck in traffic. They are not his children he was just talking and playing with them in the very reserved Japanese way. It is something I really love about Japan, the children are almost viewed as everyones child and are allowed to roam and are very safe. Young children are very precious to them. I have been surprised at how the children walk free and unsupervised here, they take trains by themselves which are crazy busy! They ride bikes on busy roads. But they are safe because everyone while not directly interacting with them watches them and lets them be.

This is me and Jeb at the Tokyo temple. It is not much of a picture but it was really beautiful. It is different the way it is squished in this busy street. But everything is that way here. I don't know how the church took the picture it has for this temple because it is a very crowded place.

This is the temple from across the street, in this really neat park I will to post more pics of. Its really a beautiful park. You can climb this hill in it and see the Angel through the trees. But you can't hop down and get to the temple from here, unless you want to climb a fence and hop off a wall onto the busy street below!! I was willing to try but Jeb not so much. You have to go out and around, the long way! But its a pretty sight even if our pic doesn't do it justice. ( I don't know how to flip this right side up sorry)

This is the girls taking a rest from all the walking we did when we went to Tokyo as a family. It was a really pretty street off of the main road.

Thats all for this post, I still have more to share

so I will post it later!!

Harleys birthday

SO Harley turned 6 years old!! I can't believe she is growing up so fast. Although we missed family we had tons of fun. She invited some neighbor girls, and all her friends from church. How glad I am for the social aspect of the church, which I have never really appreciated before, that you can be somewhere a short while and have friends for your children because of church! Of course being in a military branch they seem to become friends sooner. Harley had a great time, lots of presents, lots of love and attention! OF Course it was great to have a birthday with Daddy again!








Harleys birthday cake....... she worked so hard to blow out the candles. But her Daddy had bought her the trick candles!!! Notice her frustrated face in the 2nd picture????





She kept blowing and blowing. Till finally they went out. Jeb thought he was so funny!

Each girl was able to make her own pizza!! IT was yummy and fun!! Cheese and turkey pepperoni made it Harleys favorite.

The Party was a success and made Harleys day a special one which is what it was all about!

Starting My Blog!!!

So after many people have told me to do it I am finally starting my own family blog. I am a bit excited to do it, as I have a facebook account but you can't share a whole lot with that. So give me a few days to figure this out and I should be able to post some cute things!!

Salinda